Harsimrat accuses Rahul of refusing support to Punjab on SYL issue

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday accused Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of refusing to support Punjab on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal even as the state unit of his party had supported the bill withdrawing the land acquisition order for the canal, besides passing a resolution not to allow construction of the canal.

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday accused Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi of refusing to support Punjab on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal even as the state unit of his party had supported the bill withdrawing the land acquisition order for the canal, besides passing a resolution not to allow construction of the canal.

“Why has he developed cold feet over the SYL issue?” Harsimrat asked Rahul in a statement here, citing his assertions during his visit to Zirakpur on Saturday.

“It is unfortunate that the Congress vice-president had offered the lame excuse that he could not react on the matter because it was sub judice when no bar had been put by the apex court on speaking on the issue,” she said.

“Rahul’s refusal to speak up and be counted on the side of Punjabi farmers has negated the support extended to the issue by the Punjab Congress,” she said.

“The Congress has a policy to taking different stands on any issue in Punjab and Haryana. Since Rahul was in Zirakpur near Chandigarh, the joint capital of both the states, he chose to clam up rather than to be exposed,” she added.